2010年 02月 6日 土曜日 19:32
Sat 6 Feb – Cobra Starship, Family Force 5, Futures
The good thing about events like this is the bar situation; the vast majority of the crowd is guaranteed to be underage, so I have no problem at all getting a drink in under five minutes.
London-based band Futures were first to the stage with the task of warming up the mainly pre-pubescent crowd. Did they succeed? I thought they did; for a band that barely have any music out, they did an impressive job of grabbing attention and keeping it. For me, though, it was pop-rock by numbers and didn't really set my world alight. They seemed an odd choice of opening band next to the energy of Family Force 5 and I suspect that despite having snagged Canadian electro-pop beauty Lights to open for them on their headline tour later this month, their venues might be a little empty by the time they take to the stage. Maybe I underestimate their fans, but they were nothing particularly special.
Family Force 5, however, stole the show. I'd been excited about them since the release of Dance Or Die and on no level did they disappoint. Opening with the title track from that album, Dance Or Die, they sped through a blistering set to a somewhat unappreciative crowd. Given that they fit nicely with Cobra Starship's style, I expected them to enjoy a better reception but if the kids weren't jumping up and down with one arm in the air, they were stood like limp lettuce leaves. If ever there was a time to dance, this was it. Things warmed up a little halfway through their set but while the kids could manage the "ow" in Fever, they couldn't seem to grasp the one line of Get Your Back Off The Wall that they were supposed to repeat. It was a shame, especially given the amount of dancing everyone did to the between-sets backing music of Down.
Hopefully, with the UK release date of their album next month, Family Force 5 will be back over here very soon. The only (somewhat minor) criticism I had was that there wasn't enough keytar; for a band that rely mainly on electronics, there wasn't enough of it for me. This tends to apply to a lot of similar bands, though - Cobra Starship included.
It doesn't matter how much I enjoy Cobra Starship - which without a doubt, I do - I still find myself with a gnawing feeling in my stomach every time I see them. The one that cries a little for Midtown.
There's something about vocalist Gabe Saporta that makes me smile because it doesn't seem to matter how many times Good Girls Go Bad has been played on Radio 1, he still appreciates every single one of his band's fans - old and new. Cobra Starship opened, as usual, with The City Is At War and ran through all three of their studio albums with new favourites such as Nice Guys Finish Last and some older ones - most notably, Kiss My Sass and The Church Of Hot Addiction. The entire set was energetic fun but again, where was the dancing? A few fourteen-year-old boys created a half-hearted 'mosh pit' towards the beginning but that fizzled out very quickly and I was left wondering why all the fun was being restricted to the stage. There was more standing still with cult-like 'cobra hands' going on than there was moving to the music, which was a little disappointing.
A big Snakes On A Plane fan, that was always going to be my highlight - but I doubt all those that screamed for William Beckett actually knew who Gabe was talking about.
After a short period offstage, the encore closed (as it was obviously going to) with Good Girls Go Bad. A decent end to a good set; a good mix of tracks, all played with the energy we've come to expect from a band that don't waste time taking themselves too seriously. A big 4/5 from me.